The Eternal Breakfast Debate in a New Place

[Carmen]

oh yes, fair enough, but when you said you had copied Carmen's comment into an email to the chairman, wouldn't Carmen have any say about that? (is that how my silly off-the-cuff comment about Breakfast ended up in The Telegraph?)

I don't mind it being forwarded to the Chairman, but if I'd known I'd have written something more substantial. My comment was apoplexy-driven - I knew last week it was happening, but it was even more dreadful than I had imagined. I want to write something lengthy to the powers that be. French Frank, should we write to the Controller of Radio 3 or what? And what about a petition? We've got to make a stand, this is too awful to be let go!

[eighthobstruction]

>>>> 'And what about a petition?' <<<<....I believe a petition to bring back the hanging of Mark Thompson got well over 100,000 hits via the Cabinet Office website recently....

[Lateralthinking1]

Ah yes, but remember that he has to live with the knowledge that he was born to a mother called Sydney.

[pilamenon]

In the spirit of inquiry, I listened from about 7-40 to 8-05 today. It wasn't nearly as dreadful as I'd been led to expect. There were a number of short pieces and succinct linking of the material by PT. I particularly enjoyed a very good version of the Haydn 104 finale - Marc Minkowski - but obviously it would have been far better to have the whole symphony. It seemed relatively free of all the innovations lamented here - perhaps different times in the show have a particular remit?

The very short piece/extract? from the new Victoria box set - "No 9 in the specialist classical chart" - sat uncomfortably in this type of format, sandwiched between Shostakovich and something else equally incongruent, and generally the format of quick-fire perfumed pieces is too choppy to be wholly satisfying. The worst thing was the "coming up" after 8-00, complete with 10-second chunks of the famous bits. It's not a news programme.

[french frank]

It wasn't nearly as dreadful as I'd been led to expect.

Nor for me either. I'm neutral about Petroc in general, and here I felt most of the time he delivered fairly crisp links, with minimal/nil information. But I didn't find him intrusive or get the feeling he was wittering on much. Too many references to the weather, though, Twitter is just a fashion accessory - quite unnecessary - ditch! - but on the whole I felt there was rather less intervention than I'd feared (having listened to a couple of Breakfast programmes quite recently). It will be interesting to see how SMP fares and whether her style has altered.

Extra news headlines from Petroc and snippets from the papers were too short to be of any use - ditch!

We'd heard almost the entire programme before the one phone-in item. It could have been worse but I really can't see the point of it.

Quick calculation, I think the ratio of music to chat was cut back. Choice of music not great but has been worse (but this style of very short pieces isn't enticing enough to get me back to listening). Needs watching. They're very sneaky and know that everyone will be listening critically to begin with. I don't trust them

Edit: What I meant to say was that the chat had been cut back in relation to the music.

[Old Grumpy]

Well, I enjoyed it (0725 - 0830), but then I would say that wouldnt I? - although I must admit I do find the whole concept of Twitter rather unnecessary.

[pilamenon]

Yes, ff, agreed!

[Paul Sherratt]

Will Radio 3 phone a Friend ?

[Norfolk Born]

Will Radio 3 phone a Friend ?

I would say the odds are 50/50.

[Anna]

This morning I turned Breakfast on at 8.00 "Straight away we're going to the Specialist Classical Charts - the CDs that YOU are buying and straight in is Vivaldi!!" And that continued for half an hour.

Sorry Petroc, those are not the CDs I'm buying, nor ever likely to buy. Here is the Chart if anyone is remotely interested. If you missed this part of the programme you can download as a podcast ...

http://www.gramophone.co.uk/chart

As for the following phone-in, a most mawkish tale about being rescued from a childrens's home over a bad phoneline and she came down the stairs, in her new emerald green dress with smocking to meet her new brothers to the strains of Mendelsshon on a wind-up gramophone ... honestly, you couldn't make it up! Awful, Awful, Awful. Straight out of a 1950s Enid Blyton (Actually I stayed tuned in the hope the next phone-in would be about someone's cat choking to death)

[Norfolk Born]

This morning I turned Breakfast on at 8.00 "Straight away we're going to the Specialist Classical Charts - the CDs that YOU are buying and straight in is Vivaldi!!" And that continued for half an hour.

Sorry Petroc, those are not the CDs I'm buying, nor ever likely to buy. Here is the Chart if anyone is remotely interested. If you missed this part of the programme you can download as a podcast ...

http://www.gramophone.co.uk/chart

As for the following phone-in, a most mawkish tale about being rescued from a childrens's home over a bad phoneline and she came down the stairs, in her new emerald green dress with smocking to meet her new brothers to the strains of Mendelsshon on a wind-up gramophone ... honestly, you couldn't make it up! Awful, Awful, Awful. Straight out of a 1950s Enid Blyton (Actually I stayed tuned in the hope the next phone-in would be about someone's cat choking to death)

Good morning Anna! How does one get rescued from a children's home over a bad phoneline?
I look forward to further reviews of what sounds increasingly like a kind of dim sum comprising largely indigestible gobbets of music and chat.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

...really makes me SQUIRM, very bad for my hypertension, turned it off ....

Bring back the Third Programme

[Stillhomewardbound]

Ladies & Gentleman, I give you the ever fluent Petroc Trelawney.

(Ed. Think you missed of an 'ef' there!)

Jabbering about the celsius/centigrade ... oldest conductor in the universe ... all serving to remind one of that dread, four letter obscenity (IMHO) ....

CHAT

[Norfolk Born]

Ladies & Gentleman, I give you the ever fluent Petroc Trelawney.

(Ed. Think you missed of an 'ef' there!)

Jabbering about the celsius/centigrade ... oldest conductor in the universe ... all serving to remind one of that dread, four letter obscenity (IMHO) ....

CHAT

That'll be a thumbs-down, then...

[Anna]

Good morning Anna!
I look forward to further reviews of what sounds increasingly like a kind of dim sum comprising largely indigestible gobbets of music and chat.

Sorry Ofca, my experience of Breakfast with Petroc this morning has probably scarred me for life so I don't think there'll be any more reviews. I will revert to my usual morning fare, R4 and Today.